International Booker announces 2026 winner at Tate Modern

The International Booker Prize is due to name its 2026 winner on Tuesday night at Tate Modern in London, with the announcement scheduled to be streamed from 10.05 p.m. BST on the prize’s social channels. The Booker Prize Foundation says the award recognizes the best work of long-form fiction or short-story collection translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. (thebookerprizes.com) This year’s winner will be chosen from a six-book shortlist selected by a judging panel chaired by author Natasha Brown. The £50,000 prize is split equally between the winning author and translator. (thebookerprizes.com) ### When is the winner being announced, and where can people follow it? (thebookerprizes.com) Tuesday, May 19 is the date set by the Booker Prize Foundation for the 2026 winner announcement, and the ceremony is being held at Tate Modern in London. The foundation says the result will be livestreamed from 10.05 p.m. BST on its YouTube, Instagram and TikTok accounts. Tate Modern is the venue named in both the prize-year page and the shortlist press release. The official materials do not specify an exact minute for the spoken declaration beyond the livestream start time, but outside reporting has described the reveal as expected later in the 10 p.m. hour. (thebookerprizes.com) ### How big was the 2026 field? The judges considered 128 submitted books before selecting a 13-title longlist announced on February 24, 2026. The six-book shortlist was then announced on March 31, 2026, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 shortlist spans five original languages and authors and translators representing eight nationalities across four continents, the foundation said. Brown said in the shortlist announcement that the selected books “reverberate with history” and contain “hope, insight and burning humanity.” (thebookerprizes.com) ### Who is on the shortlist? The six shortlisted books are *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin; *She Who Remains* by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel; *The Director* by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin; *On Earth As It Is Beneath* by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan; *The Witch* by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump; and *Taiwan Travelogue* by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King. (thebookerprizes.com) The Booker Prize Foundation says five of the six shortlisted authors are women, as are four of the six translators. It also says the shortlist includes two debut novels — *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* and *She Who Remains* — and one book first published in its original language 30 years ago, *The Witch*. (thebookerprizes.com) ### Who is deciding the winner? Natasha Brown is chairing the 2026 judging panel. The other judges are Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango and Nilanjana S. Roy, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. (thebookerprizes.com) The foundation says the International Booker Prize is in its 10th year in its current form. Under the prize rules, each shortlisted title receives £5,000, divided equally between author and translator, before the winning pair is awarded the £50,000 top prize. ### What happens after the announcement? (thebookerprizes.com) The winning author and translator will be confirmed at the Tate Modern ceremony on Tuesday night, May 19, and the result will be carried on the Booker Prize Foundation’s livestream. The official prize page says the announcement begins from 10.05 p.m. BST, with the winner then joining the list of past International Booker recipients that includes Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi, last year’s winners for *Heart Lamp*. (thebookerprizes.com 1) (thebookerprizes.com 2)